Saturday, 10 December 2016

Indonesia's deadly quake Wednesday emptied groundwater wells and made nearly 50,000 homeless in area which left 160.000 dead in 2004

Photo ABC News

The number
of homeless people has soared to nearly 50,000 after the deadly mag 6.5 struck
Indonesia on Wednesday

The major
quake struck off the north-east Coast of Sumatra Island killing more than a 100
people, dozens of buildings has collapsed and many people are feared trapped
under rubble. In 2004, the same area was devastated by a tsunami that killed
more than 160,000 people in Indonesia alone.

The Jakarta
Post reported this morning that The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB)
announced Saturday that displaced Acehnese in Pidie Jaya and Bireun regencies
were in dire need of clean water and family-sized tents following a strong
earthquake in the province.

“After the
earthquake the groundwater wells went dry; the water became shallow and black.
Therefore clean water is the most needed now,” Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, BNPB’s
spokesperson said in a press conference as quoted by Antara news agency.

As of
Saturday at 10 a.m., the BNPB recorded 45,239 displaced people in Aceh. Most of
them, 43,613, are in Pidie Jaya regency and 1,716 are in Bireun regency.

Sutopo said
that besides the dry wells, a power shortage has also prevented some water
pumps from working properly. The government, he said, had sent water in trucks,
built emergency water posts and continued repairing the electricity
infrastructure.

The Public
Works and Public Housing Ministry has sent four water trucks containing 6,000
liters of water, built 70 water posts and installed 80 portable toilets. Five
water trucks, each carrying 4,000 liters of clean water, are on their way to
the shelters.